Research project: Seasonally resolved Lateglacial climate variability from the laminated sediments of Windermere

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When did widespread abrupt climate changes during the last deglaciation affect different locations? What is the nature of natural climate variability on interannual to decadal scales? Use of seasonally resolved climate records such as lake cores can help answer these questions

Project Overview

Example of varved sediment

Seasonally laminated sediments from Windermere in the English Lake District provide a high-resolution record of the last deglaciation of the British-Irish Ice Sheet from the English uplands, with regional palaeoclimatic implications.

The varved sequence is capable of producing a record of interannual to interdecadal climate variability throughout the deglacial and Lateglacial, and marks abrupt climate shifts within this period. The record from Windermere is the first glaciolacustrine varve record from a currently active British or Irish lake thus representing a spatial 'stepping-stone' between the annually resolved ice-core records of Greenland and the varved sequences of Central and Eastern Europe, both representing different regional climate regimes.

The excellent resolution and location of the Windermere varve record creates the potential to further constrain the diachroneity of deglacial and Lateglacial climate changes and identify leads and lags with respect to Greenland and Continental Europe.